Machine for binding or assembling boards



July M; 1934- T. WHITE ET AL MACHINE FOR BINDINGOR ASSEMBLING BOARDS Filed May 20, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORY Z RTTORNE )5 July w, 1934. T. WHITE ET A1.

MACHINE FOR BINDINGYOR ASSEMBLING BOARDS Filed May 20, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VE N T0/6 N Qu n w Lia aw Z ATTORNBS Patented July 16, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Thomas White and Sydney Lister, Paisley,

Scotland, assignors to Gerrard Industries Limited, London, England, a British company Application May 20, 1933, Serial No. 671,976 In Great Britain March 2, 1933 Claims.

This invention relates to machines for binding or assembling boards (or other appropriate members) in end cleats or binders.

A machine of this description is described in 5 British specification No. 296,384, and the present invention is designed more specifically to provide an improved device for presenting the cleats in the path of the advancing boards in such a machine, though it is also applicable to other machines for the same or any analogous purpose.

In the improved arrangement the cleats (this term being used to include other appropriate end binders) are fed to a pair of turrets which rotate step by step and carry them into the path of the ends of the relatively advancing boards; the cleats remain in position in the turrets until engaged to a predetermined distance by the boards, whereupon they are automatically released and go forward with the boards in completed or partial assembly.

The cleats may be cut and glued during their progress to the turrets and are preferably fed into the turrets in the reverse direction to the feed of the boards; this facilitates the layout of the machine, since the cleats can be cut and glued upon both sides of the machine at the opposite ends of the turrets to where the advancing boards have their ends dovetailed (or otherwise prepared to fit the cleats) also upon both sides of the machine.

In the preferred form of the invention the turrets are rotated by ratchet mechanism about stationary cams causing jaws to open for the reception of the cleats and to close and grip the cleats when the cleats are in position and the turrets again start to rotate. A cam-operated plunger or the like may be used for indexing, to ensure that the turret stops every time with the jaws in exact register for reception of the cleats and for holding the cleats in the path of the ends of the boards. Preferably the cleats are fed downwardly by the turrets to and away from the assembly position and are fed into the turrets at approximately the opposite or outside sides or between this position and the top. This facilitates the cutting and gluing of the cleats, since the cut and glued sides originally face outwards and are turned through 180 more or less to bring them into the correct inwardly facing position for assembly; further the jaws can be opened as they pass the lower positions, enabling any cleats to fall out which may not have been picked up by boards running through the machine (owing to a possible failure of the board feeding mechanism) and thus ensuring that the jaws are empty and ready to receive the cleat when they again reach the initial or cleat receiving station.

The invention is illustrated by the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic plan showing the general scheme of the apparatus.

Figure 2 is an end view of a turret, and

Figure 3 an outside elevation of the same.

Referring first to Figure l, a suflicient indication is given in this diagram of the general scheme, without showing any details of the drives and synchronization of the parts, or of their actual mechanical construction, since these are immaterial apart from the turret details shown in the other figures and may be of any well known or convenient form. The boards 1, 1 to be assembled are fed in appropriate groups onto a bed above a chain or other conveyor 2, 2 which advances them in the direction indicated by means of dogs 3, 3 secured to the chains. They are dovetailed at both ends by the revolving saws indicated at 4, 4 and advance continuously. The turrets 5, 5 are rotated intermittently about horizontal axes by pawls engaging ratchets 6, 6 and are indexed by engagement of a plunger in the index wheels 7, 7. The cleats 8, 8 are intermittently fed in the opposite direction in such a manner that after being dovetailed by upper and lower rotary saws at 9, 9 and glued at l0, 10 they are fed into jaws opened to receive them at the receiving stations of the turrets, as hereinafter described, while the turrets are momentarily stationary. The rotation of the turrets has meanwhile carried other cleats 8a, 8a step by step round to the inner or assembly stations and the turrets remain stationary until the boards 1, 1 have been pushed either completely or partially home and the jaws holding the cleats 8a, 8a opened to release the assembly, as will be described. The assembly is then carried on along th. bed by the conveyor without pause, the assembly last completed being indicated at 11.

Turning now to Figures 2 and 3, the construction of the turrets will be described. The turret is intermittently rotated by a pawl 12 engaging the ratchet 6. The pawl is pivoted on a rod 13 reciprocated by a cam (not shown) suitably synchronized with the other parts of the machine. Between the operating strokes of the pawl the turret is held by a plunger 14 carried by an arm 15 and engaging the appropriate slot in the index wheel 7 which is fixed relatively to the turret: immediately prior to the operative engagement of the pawl the plunger is drawn out by a suitable synchronized cam (not shown) which rocks back the arm 15. Position A indicates the receiving station for the cleat 8 which is fed into position between a fixed jaw 16 and a movable jaw 17. The movable jaw is pivoted to the turret at 18 and an extension arm or bracket 19 forms with it a bell crank lever. The arm 19 carries a roller 20 and its extremity houses a compression spring 21 of which the other end is held in a socket 22 rigidly connected with the fixed jaw 16. The spring pressure can be adjusted by means of the screw cap fitting 23, and the gripping force of the jaws thus adjusted as desired. The roller 20 bears upon a fixed cam 24 (shown in heavy dotted lines at Figure 2) and it will be observed that at station A the jaw is not quite sufficiently closed to prevent the entry of the cleat 8. The cleat is however held in position by a spring pressed roller 25 (see Figure 1) and the moment the turret begins to move it is freed by the formation of the fixed cam 24 and the jaws (which may be serrated if necessary) firmly grip the cleat. The cleat is now moved from station to station with a pause at each until it reaches the assembly station indicated by B, the glue meanwhile having had time to become tacky. The cleat 811 at this station is shown with the boards 1 carried along by the dog 3 of the conveyor beginning to engage. As the boards advance they will engage the roller 26 carried by the movable jaw 17 and thereby open the jaw against the action of the spring, so releasing the cleat which they carry on with them. The extent to which they enter the cleat may be adjusted by altering the position of the roller 26; as shown it may be positioned by screwing its axle 2'7 into any one of a number of holes 28 provided on the outer face of the jaw. It will be observed that the fixed jaw is in the form of a plate secured to the turret by screws 29. This is to enable it to be replaced by a jaw of different shape or size to accommodate different sizes or forms of cleat; but it might alternatively be adjustable.

In order to insure that any cleat not picked up by boards may not cause an obstruction at the receiving station the fixed cam 24 is so shaped as to open the jaws some way in advance of the receiving station and while they are facing downwardly, so that any such cleat may fall clear.

It will be understood that adjustments for the length of the boards may be made by moving the turrets towards or away from one another and that any appropriate number of stations may be employed in advancing the cleats from the receiving to the assembly station. The mechan ical details may obviously be very considerable varied without departing from the invention in its wider aspects.

We claim:

1. In a machine of the type described for assembling tongued and grooved cleats and board units, the combination comprising a carrier for feeding board units, a rotatable turret on each side of the carrier, a plurality of cleat supporting clamp jaws on said turrets, means for imparting step by step movement to said turrets, and means cooperating with said clamp jaws for opening and closing them, said turrets moving the cleats successively into the paths of the edges of the board units and holding the cleats against movement until the board units and cleats are engaged.

2. In a machine of the type described for attaching cleats to board units comprising the combination of board feeding means, rotatable turrets supported adjacent the sides of said means, a plurality of cleat supporting clamping devices on each turret, each clamping device comprising a fixed and a movable jaw, means for imparting intermittent rotation to said turrets, means cooperating with the movable jaw of each clamp for opening and closing he clamp to receive and hold cleats, and means adjacent the board feeding means for moving the movable jaws of the clamps to release the cleats after their engagement with the board units.

3. In a machine of the type described for attaching cleats to board units comprising the combination of board feeding means, rotatable turrets supported adjacent the sides of said means, a plurality of cleat supporting clamping devices on each turret, each clamping device comprising a fixed and a movable jaw, means for imparting intermittent rotation to said turrets, means cooperating with the movable jaw of each clamp for opening and closing he clamp to receive and hold cleats, and means operated by the board units for releasing the clamps to release the cleats after engagement of the cleats with the board units.

4. The combination comprising a board feeding carrier, a turret rotatably supported at each side of the carrier, means for imparting intermittent rotation to the turrets, a plurality of pairs of gripping jaws mounted on the turrets eachincluding a fixed and a movable jaw, means cooperating with the movable jaw of each pair for moving it with respect to the fixed jaw as the turret revolves, and means mounted on the movable jaw of each pair and positioned to cooperate with the board units to move the movable jaw with respect to its cooperating fixed jaw to release the cleats after engagement with a board unit.

5. In a machine of the type described, the combination of means for feeding boards continuously along a defined path, a rotatable carrier jornaled at each side of said means, a plurality of pairs of relatively movable jaws mounted on said carriers, means for imparting intermittent rotation to the carriers, fixed means cooperating with said jaws for opening and closing them at a point in the path of rotation of the carriers, and means operated by the boards for opening the jaws to release the cleats held thereby after the cleats are engaged with the boards.

THOMAS WHITE. SYDNEY LISTER. 

